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Topic Review (Newest First)

11-23-2012 12:48 PM

boarderaholic

Snow tires, without a shadow of a doubt. Its saved my butt in so many situations in the city that all seasons just wouldn't be able to hack. The roads have also gotten bad enough that you weren't allowed to drive up certain roads without winters. They're a bit expensive in the short term, but life saving in the long term.

11-23-2012 11:46 AM

wrathfuldeity

Snow tires....other drivers will also appreciate it.

Coming down from Baker on Wed opening day, snowed 11" during the day...got stuck for 2 hours behind a 4-5 car pile up. A tow truck was pulling a car out of the ditch, when another car hit the car being pulled out of the ditch and then 3 other cars piled up. Going up and coming down was a pain in the ass...tourist not knowing the road, the conditions and not being prepared. On Tues my daughter and I changed out the 4 tires in 30 mins...not nascar pit speed but easy.

Very cold snow is not all that slippery and in 20-30 below weather, its like driving on sand. Maritime snow sitting right at 32 degrees is the slimiest, slickest shit imaginable. Under any compression it turns into solid ice right under your tires.

Definitely one of my scariest driving experiences was last year when we were driving up the winding road that leads you up to Big Bear in early December in my buddies BMW. Twin turbo, low pro's and rear wheel drive as it started snowing

We couldn't even get chains because he had a special tire size and after talking to 2 different people that had slid off the road in 4x4's we decided we had to drive back down. Stayed the night and had to drive all the way back up in the morning to the mountain instead of staying in our Hotel that was 15 mins from Bear.

How often if ever do they have chain laws in effect on the i-70 and other passes? And are you exempt if you have 4x4? I remember it being like that a few times driving up to Big Bear but only when they were getting dumped on...

I remember being in mandatory chainups in our cars in CA as a kid, but I've never seen it here in CO. I wonder if the maritime nature of west coast snow has any bearing or what, I know Snowolf has driven in shit weather everywhere, maybe he knows why.

Generally there are no chain laws here for normal civilian vehicles. It is not totally true, but most people have snowtires, 4x4 or both. All (i have heard of a couple small town/passes exceptions) of the mandatory chain ups are for big rigs.

I-70 is plowed pretty well. The new Cdot app is pretty sick for i70 denver-vail.

I deal with motor vehicle fatalities. I swear by snow tires and so do all my accident reconstruction engineers. Best money you will ever spend. Do it.

Yuppers... Snows aren't just for snow! They're softer and have more slits in the tread blocks, so they'll grip on ice and cold pavement better.

You'll get better traction ALL YEAR ROUND if you have a set of summer performance tires for the summer, and winters for the winter.

Since we're on the subject, summer tires are much better than all seasons too. This coming from the guy that put his old MR2 into a concrete wall on the 401 in the rain (doing 110 km/h in the slow lane)...

11-21-2012 04:06 PM

Skinny Bam

How often if ever do they have chain laws in effect on the i-70 and other passes? And are you exempt if you have 4x4? I remember it being like that a few times driving up to Big Bear but only when they were getting dumped on...

11-12-2012 07:43 PM

hikeswithdogs

Depends on a lot of things,

If you drive less than 2-30 miles per day and cross mountain passes then yea get 2 sets of tires a set of snow tires and a set of AT or Hiway tires.

If you drive 40+ miles per day f it and just get some good long wearing AT's and deal with it.

Worst case scenario get your old tires SIPED if their not too worn down and BAM you have snow tires.....kinda

good luck

11-12-2012 07:22 PM

john doe

Look into winter performance tire. They aren't as good as snow tires in the snow but are still way better then normal all season tires. What they give up in snow performance they make up for in dry cold road performance. Basically a half way point between full snows and all seasons. Great for areas that have snow only sometimes.

Keep in mind if you do have two sets of tires, you are going to get a lot more wear out of them. I generally get about 2-3 seasons out of my snow tires. My regular set lasts even longer since I am swapping them out. It's a bitch at the start to have them both, but in the long run it'll save you money and headaches if you are driving up in the mountains frequently. I can't tell you how many times my FWD vehicle has gotten through stuff where AWD and 4WD vehicles were plain stuck.

I just bought what I call all weather tires for my VW. They are like snows and all seasons all in one. Leagal for use on hwy in the snowy months and have the snowflake symbol on them like a snow tire does too. Good choice if you cant afford 2 sets and need new tires or just dont have the room for two sets.

the main problem here is that if you drive your winter tires all summer not only do they perform like shit but you are rubbing all the siping and soft glass rubber off.

As Kill so eloquently explained, if you are driving in the mountains, a 2nd set of tires is not "more money". You need rubber for your wheels. 2 sets lasts 2x as long. Throw in a full size spare or 2 and your 2 sets will go 3-5 years. Not to mention you can use your summer set to they straight show steel and wear the fuck out...diligence on snow tires pays tho....

11-12-2012 06:59 PM

61ragtop

I just bought what I call all weather tires for my VW. They are like snows and all seasons all in one. Leagal for use on hwy in the snowy months and have the snowflake symbol on them like a snow tire does too. Good choice if you cant afford 2 sets and need new tires or just dont have the room for two sets.